Ally Stuart

Hi, I’m Ally Stuart, a documentary wedding photographer living and working in Scotland and I adore my job! I’ve been a photographer all my life, I’ve been shooting weddings since 2004 and never had a “proper” job. I’ve always been my own boss and I love it.

I absolutely adore the challenge of finding great compositions and documenting the happy, sad, emotional, and funny moments at a wedding. I think there’s incredible photos to be had at every wedding.

I just need to find them. I can’t understand why anyone would want to spend time at their wedding posing for photos. Real moments are what it’s all about for me.

I started off using Canon gear. I had everything!! Every focal length, zooms, primes, macros, you name it, and I had it. The Canon EF 135mm f/2L was an amazing lens but I can’t imagine using something so long now

Then I pared my kit down to just a few lenses and two Nikon D800s. They were great but heavy so I switched to Fuji when mirrorless got to the point that they were good in low light.

With The Fuji X series, I love the very light weight of the cameras, the near-silent shutter, the flip screen that gets me into much better angles and lets me tell the full story of the day in an imaginative reportage way.

I also appreciate the fact that shooting Fuji means your part of the Fuji family. It’s still a small company that cares for its customers.

I now shoot with 3 cameras on the day. A Fuji X-T2, an Fujifilm X-T3, and a Fujifilm X100F. (It’s so quiet and great in the church and drinks reception. Most people just think I’m a guest).

I usually have either a Fuji 18mm or a Fuji 14mm on one body and a Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 on the other. The Fujifilm X100F has a 23mm fixed lens on it. That’s all I need to shoot a wedding.

I don’t carry a bag at weddings but I do have a little pouch (it’s actually a very cheap climbers chalk pouch…no I’m not a climber) on my belt and a waist bag. Anything that’s spare kit or is flash kit for the dances gets put in a Billingham Hadley Small and a Lower Roller case.